A Vile Season

By: David Ferraro

Narrated by: Jackie Meloche

Bridgerton meets The Bachelor in this queer regency romance of a vampire competing for the heart of a duke.

After being run out of his castle by vampire hunters, Count Lucian encounters the god of vampires, Vrykolakas, while in hiding. Unhappy with how many vampires have been bested by hunters, Vrykolakas gives Lucian a test: Infiltrate the future dukes marriage games as a suitor and uncover the clandestine vampire hunters Vrykolakas suspects lurk in their midst. The god strips Lucian of his immortality so he can walk amongst mortalsmaking him human for the first time in centuries. If Lucian succeeds, Vrykolakas will make him the most powerful vampire in existence, but if he fails, the god of vampires will torture him for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, Lucian isnt prepared for the emotions that come with humanity, nor the treacheries of courting season with fellow nobles posing as friends, enemies, and wholly unsuitable romantic distractions. To win the life he wants, Lucian will have to decide if being a vampire is worth giving up the friendship and love hes found.

Beautiful story

From start to finish the book had me on the edge of my seat and the trope was a wonderful thing to experience. It wasn’t crazy focused on just romance or just mystery but both which I absolutely loved.

Lucian is a villain and I’m OBSESSED!!

Lucian is arrogant, vain, a villain, and I love him. There’s nothing like an entertaining and flawed POV character. I would read an entire series from his POV. I also think the narrator captured what makes this character a delight. I started reading a hard copy and then my schedule got crazy so I decided to get the audiobook book, too. It really was a treat to hear the narrator embody the character I was already becoming obsessed with!!

What’s fun about this book, without really spoiling anything, is it feels like a queer Beauty and the Beast retelling but from Beast’s point of view. Like, imagine Beast is still gorgeous and he is supposed to be seducing Gaston (Ambrose) while he’s actually falling in love with Belle (Maxwell) and that love is making him a better person. Except they also have to deal with vampires, monster hunters, kidnapping plots and family drama. As someone who loves Beauty and the Beast retellings and all things queer, I really enjoyed that.

Absurd Rom-Com or Horror?

Summary: An evil narcissistic vampire turns human and learns what friendship and emotions are.

Overall I had a fun time listening to it, but I wasn't sure what tone the author was going for... an absurd rom-com or a horror?

The book didn't take itself seriously at one moment, with Lucian teasing his butler about how lucky he is that he gets to see him undress everyday, and scenes of the characters bantering and bickering about romance drama. The next minute its "My favorite sound is the sound of bones breaking." and detailed descriptions of gore and childhood trauma.

The audiobook narrator (Jackie Meloche) had the cadence of reading like an absurd rom-com and I liked him, he voice acted well and it was very enjoyable. But with the book constantly swapping between silly jokes and literally describing gruesome murder it was a bit jarring. Sometimes I didn't know how I was supposed to feel.

All that said though, worth the listen!

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Mild spoilers:

Can we talk about how Lucian was literally EVIL- with the things he made people do, and the way he found immense physical pleasure in torturing?? Many times throughout the book he mentions loving killing and torture - he is objectively a terrible, evil man. And then when people he mistreated get back at him he's shocked and upset? And how did he go from evil to being hyper empathetic within *checks watch* a few days of being human?

The last few chapters were rather disorienting. In the ending we get a happy-ever-after, with every character fighting for him, no questions asked? The book was filled with traumatic events and chaos, so having it wrap up perfectly with a bow felt very strange.